Trust Co. of Vermont Makes New $4.04 Million Investment in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. $PAG

Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 22,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,042,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAG. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,484,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,914,000 after acquiring an additional 92,794 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Penske Automotive Group by 11.9% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,447,910 shares of the company’s stock worth $216,489,000 after acquiring an additional 154,443 shares during the period. Diamant Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Penske Automotive Group by 14,852.0% during the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 884,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $132,237,000 after acquiring an additional 878,496 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in Penske Automotive Group by 39,232.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 863,352 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,660,000 after acquiring an additional 861,157 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 726,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,043,000 after purchasing an additional 44,749 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.08% of the company’s stock.

Penske Automotive Group Price Performance

PAG opened at $218.27 on Tuesday. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a one year low of $140.12 and a one year high of $227.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.21. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $197.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $173.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.84.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $3.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.42 by $0.20. Penske Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.81% and a return on equity of 14.78%. The firm had revenue of $8.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.78 EPS. Penske Automotive Group’s revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $1.44 dividend. This is an increase from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Penske Automotive Group’s payout ratio is 42.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAG has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $170.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Stephens lifted their price objective on Penske Automotive Group from $166.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $200.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group set a $190.00 target price on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded Penske Automotive Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $199.00 to $210.00 in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $207.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Penske Automotive Group

In other news, CFO Michelle Hulgrave sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.80, for a total transaction of $257,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 17,596 shares in the company, valued at $3,022,992.80. The trade was a 7.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 52.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Penske Automotive Group Profile

Penske Automotive Group, Inc (NYSE: PAG), headquartered in Bloomfield Township, Michigan, is an international transportation services company primarily focused on automotive and commercial truck dealerships. The company retails new and pre-owned vehicles across a broad spectrum of brands, while offering parts, maintenance, collision repair and reconditioning services. In addition, Penske provides financing and insurance products through its integrated finance and insurance operations, supporting both retail customers and commercial clients.

Formed in 1990 as United Auto Group and publicly traded since 1999, Penske Automotive Group has grown through organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to establish a network of dealerships and service centers across the United States and Europe.